


Love and Progressive Metal NYC

by GiantTribble



Category: Bodybuilding Misc, Dream Theater, Hip Hop RPF, Kamelot, Love and Hip Hop, Real Housewives RPF
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3216524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiantTribble/pseuds/GiantTribble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the newest installment of Love and Progressive Metal, a parody of Love and Hip Hop, we follow some bands as they strive to either "make" or "maintain" a life in the Empire City NYC. The series follows the lives of rising stars and starlets, all fighting for their chance to make it in the progressive rock capital of America. </p><p>A household name by way of his djent groove, guitar shredding, and an infamous sex tape with Sally Steampunk, Shawn Malik Jones has re-invented himself as a heavy-hitting entertainment mogul. His illustrious love life takes center stage once again, as he struggles to deal with the three women who circle him... his ex-fling and ex-Malmsteen Records recording artist, Tiana Marie, his current boo, Princess Leah, and his assistant, Morgan Derrida-Foucault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and Progressive Metal NYC

LOVE AND PROGRESSIVE METAL 

Introduction

As the newest installment of Love and Prog Metal, we follow some bands as they strive to either "make" or "maintain" a life in the Empire City NYC. The series follows the lives of rising stars and starlets, all fighting for their chance to make it in the progressive rock capital of America. 

A household name by way of his djent groove, guitar shredding, and an infamous sex tape with Sally Steampunk, Shawn Malik Jones has re-invented himself as a heavy-hitting entertainment mogul. His illustrious love life takes center stage once again, as he struggles to deal with the three women who circle him... his ex-fling and ex-Malmsteen Records recording artist, Tiana Marie, his current boo, Princess Leah, and his assistant, Morgan Derrida-Foucault.

Tiana Marie has her own struggles, as she can’t seem to shake the lingering pain from her now-defunct relationship with Shawn. Tiana leans on her friend, upcoming guitarist and former publicist, Amber E for guidance, but Amber has her own love issues with keyboardist Yung Brian, who feels Amber should either step in line with his other love interests or just step aside.

Kylie Michelle, a roadie and vocal coach, comes into the crosshairs of record-store heirress Nicki “Baby” Smith, when the two compete for the attention of Jamal “Poppin Mally” Khan, a vocalist and trust fund baby with an affinity for fashion. 

Multi-platinum singer, Roy Khan, joins the hot young cast as he endeavors to do right by his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Eliza Chanel, daughter of super producer, Ron Jarzombek. Ray Alder and Jim Matheos from the classic prog group Fates Warning are older now and dealing with grown up issues like pregnancies and baby mama drama. Ray Alder’s girlfriend Shaniqua Hain, must contend with his overbearing mother. Meanwhile Matheos tries to build a future with girlfriend Amanda Guildenstern, while being tethered to his past by way of his son’s mother, Moniece Rosenkrantz, who feels shut out of her son’s life.

Chapter 1 

Is it performance, is it expression?  
Is it a passion or just a profession  
Is it fiction, is it confession?  
Is it a passion or just an obsession - Fates Warning, Monument 

Grey clouds, like so much cigarette smoke, scudded across a cold New York City sky as Tiana Marie sat on the 27 crosstown bus, listening to some old Dream Theater ballads on her MetroPCS phone. Her bass guitar lurked in a patch-covered cheap RoadRunner bag slung in front of her. 

*What was Shawn thinking?* Last rehearsal, Shawn Malik Jones, the muscular, aesthetic lead guitar player in their band, walked in with the fashionable Princess Leah. Everyone was mirin' the fly couple. A blonde bombshell and an up and coming singer, Princess had guest starred on one of Shawn's side projects. But Tiana could tell that something else was going on. 

She still remembered when they had been going out. Tiana knew from Shawn's history of freaky flicks that he was not a one-woman man. Shawn had said once: "you know, Tee, the music industry is a rough place. Relationships get broken up. Don't expect anything to last." Those words were in reference to bandmates, but they could also be taken another way. 

But she stayed. Not in the relationship, but in the band. And now, she thought as the bus pulled up to Brew City Pub on East 149th street, and she pulled on her bass case, she was going back for another hot helping of jiltedness. At least she got to shred a little in the mixolydian and dorian modes and wash her sorrows down with beer and liquor after the show. 

Music had once been awesome, an escape from her boring ass career as a stockbroker. But now being a full time musician was starting to wear her down, and she was thinking of going back for her Series 3 to cash in on the commodities boom. The song "Monument" by Fates Warning came on. Was it a passion... or just an profession? 

*** 

149th street was one of the major throughfares in the Bronx, in New York City, the throne of progressive rock in America. Home to Lincoln Hospital and tons of restaurants, it was also home to Brew City Pub. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, the unassuming brewpub turned into a hotspot for progressive and power metal's major luminaries. Everyone from Dream Theater to the reformed Texas technical band Watchtower had played there at least once. 

Right down the street from Brew City was SoBro Records, a recording studio and record store. In times of yore, it had been a center for rap and Latin dance music. But now, it had been gentrified by progressive metal's kings and queens. John Petrucci had left his mark there when he recorded a collaboration with Michael Romeo of Symphony X. The downstairs record store was filled with prog metal albums, ranging from the Tunisian band Myrath to the Chinese band Last Successor, to modern retro-prog like Anglagard and The Flower Kings. 

Leah Horowitz popped out of the 2 train stop. She'd gotten out of school early and had a few hours to kill before the Cryochamber show. The phone rang - the ringtone was "The Bitch Is Back" by Sinergy - and she picked it up. 

"Hi, Mom? I'm staying over at Latoya's house tonight. We have a chemistry project to work on together. I know - I know but like, this is really important. No, I'm not hanging out with those guys. My band practice isn't until Saturday. All right. Love you." 

Leah popped into SoBro Records, waved hi to Dieter Lopez, Cryochamber's drummer, at the counter and ran into the bathroom. There, she swapped her charter school uniform for Tripps and an old Kataklysm shirt. She wiped off the tattoo cover makeup on her bicep and teased her hair. There was a naughty sparkle in her blue eyes. Now she was Princess Leah. 

*** 

Tiana swilled some liquid courage, plugged in her bass, and soundchecked. Dieter tested out his drums. Mally, the vocalist, said: Testes, testes, one, two, three, leading to a chuckle. "All systems go," said Janae the engineer. Yung Brian played a lick on the Hammond organ, and Shawn followed with a bit of speedy tapping on the guitar. 

*** 

Leah took her usual spot at the side of the stage, close to Shawn, the dreamy guitar player of Cryochamber. She listened to the music, of course, but she looked more intently at his rippling tattoo-covered muscles and long black dreadlocks. She sipped her beer as his long fingers moved quickly over the neck of the seven string guitar, creating djenty chords and fast licks. 

Behind him, the bass player, Tiana, appeared as a tiny, brooding figure, her dark hair covering her face. She was focused on keeping the low end going, forming a tight rhythmic figure with the drummer's relentless polyrhythms. 

Tiana looked at Shawn. She looked at Leah, then looked at Shawn again. It's like their eyes were sexing each other. She looked away, concentrated on her bass. *It's over, Tiana. They're in love. Whatever. Be outcome independent, don't be a little bitch.* 

*** 

"Fuck it." Tiana and Amber E sat at the bar as old Kamelot ballads played through the speakers. The rest of the band had gone home, but Tiana had all the time in the world. "I'm trying to be over him." She knocked down the shot of Jack Daniels. 

"Dude it's ok. I mean - at least he gave you a definitive answer. At least you know it's over." Amber E zipped some picks into her guitar case's front pocket. "I can't even get a word out of this rusty nigga." 

"Lol," said Tiana, thinking of her rusty, scrawny keyboard player. "Yung Brian? Goddamn if he's even legal, you creepy-ass cougar, lol."

"Hey, look who's talking." They laughed. Tiana had just celebrated her 38th birthday, and she was still fighting over a boy with... what was her name ... Laura? No, Leah... how old was she anyway? She said she was 21, but you never know. Amber and Tiana had graduated from City College together. They met in a cost accounting class and were friends ever since. Amber had gone through many career changes before dropping out to play neoclassical guitar, making her living through private lessons. 

"Honestly though," said Amber, "I know it's dumb for me to be sweating this kid but how many girls is he with? I keep finding out about new side chicks every week, it seems. There's always something weird on his Instagram." She pulled out her Iphone and swiped. Every picture revealed Brian with some other girl, it was like he was a pickup artist spinning plates. 

"Girl that's why I stick to my dumbphone. Haha, I need to avoid all that social media bullshit." Tiana's basic MetroPCS prepaid phone seemed a bulwark against drama. Except for the drama that was splitting her identity. Where no cell phone signal could reach. And she wasn't a cougar. Was she? Shawn Malik was 28. That's totally appropriate, they're both adults. It's his new relationship that's inappropriate. Or is it? 

*** 

Chapter 2 

Who will trade his karma for my kingdom  
A sacrificial rite to render truth  
The fire in my soul rejects my wisdom  
Cuz all you do in life comes back to you - Kamelot "Karma" 

"Hey sexy." The text popped up, unbidden, on Roy Khan's phone in the predawn light sometimes described as "A Pleasant Shade of Grey". He switched it to silent. 

"Who that?" muttered Eliza Chanel from the lump of blanket next to Royce.  
"My brother." Roy screamed in his head: shut up! shut the hell up! Another text bubble popped up. 

"Miss me?" Then a picture of Sally Steampunk flossing her greased up caramel buttcheeks with a pink vinyl thong. Roy shoved the phone under his pillow. But he couldn't go back to sleep. Big recording day today. Tom Youngblood was done with his tracks down in Florida, the other guys were as well, now they were just waiting on Roy to send some tracks.

*** 

After putting in some hard work, running over some melodies in odd meters and working on mixing with legendary producer Ron Jarzombek, Roy had to wind down. It was bad enough that his producer was the father of his jealous-ass girlfriend. Eliza was out with her homegirls, blowing out her credit card at Sephora while day drinking. She didn't give a fuck about the music, but Roy gave a fuck about getting his music produced right. 

He had to get out of the house and do something responsible, something adult. Something to get his head on straight so he won't blow up. So now he found himself in a beat-up Kia minivan with his homeboys, Ray Alder and Jim Matheos from Fates Warning, headed to Costco by Yankee Stadium. It was wine tasting day anyway. 

"These bitches... can't live with them can't live without 'em", said Ray as he turned into the parking lot. 

"Tell me about it bro," said Roy. 

"Even family. You're born with it, stuck with it. I can't believe my mom moved here to stalk me. She hates the weather but says she can't deal with being trapped in Texas." 

"I hear ya, I'm so glad my parents stay back in Europe." 

"Lucky bastard." 

*** 

As Ray pushed his toilet paper - filled cart down the aisle, another prog metal couple sauntered by. Looks like Shawn Malik Jones was back together with Sally Steampunk. *Why is this bitch messaging me if she with him?* He had his arm around her waist like they were thinking of bumping uglies. Just like they did in that freaky flick 5 years ago that was all over Myspace. 

And then, staring at him, was a small blonde girl with her mom.  
"Come on Leah!" said her mother, a short, spherical woman, in a strong Brooklyn accent. "Why you looking at that tattoo rasta? That's not someone from the bands is it?" 

The drama llama has arrived. With its herd in tow. 

***


End file.
